Most research in group decision support systems (GDSSs) has focused on small-group, single-site activity using a Decision Room concept. ‘Computer-mediated meeting management’ (CM3) is a new group decision support system designed to address the challenges of meetings distributed in time and space. Design principles, operational characteristics and experiences gained from sessions using the CM3system are discussed. In addition, the fundamental issues related to decentralized meetings, including mechanisms for identifying conversational threads in brainstorming sessions, are presented. Finally, the unique features of the CM brainstorming and voting modules are discussed in detail.